


Captain to Coach

by MelonMochiii



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Captain Rex - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:20:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28266054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelonMochiii/pseuds/MelonMochiii
Summary: This is a Star Wars Secret Santa Fic for Pinkie Emmie (tumblr) about Captain Rex after the war if the Republic won.  Just a little moment Rex has appreciating where he ended up.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3
Collections: Star Wars Secret Santa 2020





	Captain to Coach

Rex stood at the edge of the field, gazing out into the issuing battle before him. He had trained them well, passed on his experience as best he could to the next generation of warriors. Though he couldn't help but feel despair as the tides turned in favor of the enemy. He also felt a small pang of guilt from considering children as enemies. It was only a goal after all.

The opposing team cheered as they ran back to their side of the field, exchanging high fives and hugs in a chaotic jumble of little bodies. It was now 4-1 for the other team, and one goal closer to the semi-finals. Rex watched his team drudge back to centre field, caked in mud and exhausted, but he could still see the fire in their eyes. He never could have guessed that he would end up as a volunteer coach for a kids Meshgeroya team when he came to Mandalore after the war. He originally came to Mandalore to get the cure for his accelerated aging from a man named Kal Skirata, one of the old Mando instructors from Kamino, who had been secretly setting up a place for clones to retire, but after seeing how many of his brothers were staying to make a life for themselves here he thought he might stick around to see if it would suit him too. Though his brothers weren’t the only ones to settle here; apparently Obi-wan had too. His reasoning was that he had a new girlfriend he was seeing, though Rex had heard enough rumors of the Jedi and the Duchess to know the “new” part was a load of bantha-

“Half-time!” The referee hollered from the sideline.

“All right kids, bring it in!” Rex called out.

The kids ran back to him as fast as their little legs could carry them but quickly diverted as soon as one of the parents brought over a bin of sliced jogan fruit. Rex couldn’t help but laugh to himself, he never knew what it was like to be a normal child but watching the children just be themselves and have no care in the world except the fruit felt like a second chance to him. Once the kids were well into the snacks, Rex pulled their attention back to him. He could see their eyes grow wide and bodies start to jitter and knew he only had moments before they would be lost in a sugar rush.

“Good job, kids. You’re doin’ really well out there. Remember what I said last time, though?” His mind went straight to captain mode but quickly switched back to coach. When he first started coaching he would talk to the kids as if he was giving a briefing, but quickly learned that he needed to bring it down a notch, “We need to spread out and not crowd the ball, right? We pass to each other and we move the ball up to the net, right?”

“YEAH!!!” One of the boys shouted as he crushed the fruit he held in both of his tiny hands. Rex could have sworn that kid was related to Wrecker somehow.

For a bunch of 5-year-olds, they reminded him so much of his brothers. In between battles, they would play Meshgeroya in the hangar and set up a field with whatever equipment they could spare at the time. Their “ball” had been repaired so many times it could barely be considered sports equipment, and with how hard they all went when playing, it could have actually been considered a weapon. Those were some of the best memories Rex had, the little moments where he could escape from the struggles of war and had some small bit of normalcy with his family. And now it was his everyday life, and he couldn’t be more thankful for that.

Once the break was over, he sent the kids screaming back onto the field. He could only hope they would remember what he had said, but he knew they would just end up in another horde of everyone trying to kick the ball at once, with the occasional kid rolling around in the mud. And just as he predicted, the ball was dropped and the chaos began. Parents cheered as the kids became one big mass swarming around the ball, bumping into itself and falling over at the slightest misstep. Then suddenly, the ball was freed from the swarm, towards the opposing team's goal, and the kids pursued.

“Go, Koren! Go!” Rex yelled as the little togruta boy led the team. He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him and managed to keep ahead of the rest. Kicking the ball down the field, he approached the goal with fierce determination. Rex's clipboard nearly snapped under his grip as he watched his team dominate the field.

As Koren was about to shoot, the keeper charged out of the net towards him. Rex swore under his breath as Koren's chances narrowed; even though the net was empty now, he had seen this same scenario enough times to know it could be the end of his breakaway. And just as they were about to close the gap, at the last second, Rex could see Koren setting up for some fancy footwork that he had probably seen on the holonet. His stomach dropped as he watched the boy try to be like the professionals and his opportunity to shoot disappear. Rex couldn’t be too frustrated though. As much as he wanted to see his team do well, watching them just have fun was far more rewarding. It was something he and his brothers never had growing up. Then suddenly, as the keeper went to steal the ball, Koren kept control and spun the ball away, leaving the keeper to fall face-first into the mud.

“Go Koren! Oya!!” Rex shouted. He couldn’t believe it had actually worked. Koren took his shot and the ball flew into the back of the net. Koren, jumping with excitement was swarmed by his team and melded into the horde again. Rex couldn’t help but smile at the joy the kids exuded. They were still losing, but it was as if they had just won the tournament, though the sugar rush was probably a contributor to that. As the referee tried to herd them all back to centre, Rex stepped back for a moment to take it all in.

It was little moments like this that made Rex thankful that he had survived the war. He lived as a farmer in this small community, something he had dreamed about once during the war, and found great pride in it. Though, coaching was something he never expected to enjoy this much. With all the hell he had been through, and all the nightmares he would have to carry with him for the rest of his life, he knew he was one of the lucky ones to find a place in the universe he could call home.


End file.
